Henry Shukman

There was only one world, one reality.

And both the water and any sense of Henry were both that reality.

So the distinction had gone.

And actually, I dropped right in then to this unbounded, empty substance.

There was no substance.

That was what the universe was made of.

And I knew to the bottom of my being, all through my bones, that I was made of the universe and I was not separate from it and never had been and never could be because we were one thing that was not really a thing.

But it was absolutely one.

And I sort of emerged from that, you know, realized I was a person standing on a beach again.

And then I was just enveloped by the sense of all of this, this whole life, this whole world, all of us, it's a dream.

a most beautiful, sublime dream.

And it's all made of love, like an immemorial love, just enveloped everything.

And, you know, it was, I knew it was real.

And I was so blown away by it that I felt I had fulfilled my life.

That whatever the purpose of this life had been, which, to be honest, I'd never thought about, really, before.

I'd never really thought, what's my purpose?

I'd just been following what I was told, studying sports, gymnastics, whatever.

But in this moment, suddenly it just was like a wave of love just enveloped me.

Right after that experience, you know.

And it was like, I've had a purpose in this life.